Services available in states that have Death With Dignity Statutes in place which allow mentally competent adult state residents who have a terminal illness with a confirmed prognosis of 6 or fewer months to live to voluntarily request and potentially receive prescription medication to hasten their inevitable, imminent death. Trained volunteers or staff provide in-depth personal support and information throughout the process and assist with applications and connecting with local physicians. The protections in the statutes ensure that patients remain the driving force in end-of-life care discussions. The death with dignity process is robust: Two physicians must confirm the patient's residency, diagnosis, prognosis, mental competence, and voluntariness of the request. Two waiting periods, the first between the oral requests, the second between receiving and filling the prescription, are generally required.
No programs.